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If the parent didn't want to associate a group of people with stealing, they could have just started the quote at "gangs" and it would have worked just as well...

But really, any reader who doesn't already have racial prejudices will recognize that the operative word is "gangs", not "[ethnic group]". It's a bit of an insult to the sensibilities of HN readers, and it doesn't protect anyone from anything.

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What's with everyone getting offended over "[ethnic group]"? What probably happened was that the employee said it and the GP censored it before quoting, without much thought. No need to get all worked up about it.

Yeah, the (G)GP probably wanted to avoid the thread derailing into conversation about how "[ethnic group]" is a victim of racism. But it seems that HN is entirely capable of having that conversation with "[ethnic group]" being a free variable...

I agree with you, but I'm going to quibble over:

> any reader who doesn't already have racial prejudices

because I don't believe these people exist.

Fair. Maybe it would be better to say "any reader who recognizes their prejudices and compensates accordingly". Bit of a mouthful though.

Hmmm. How about "any thoughtful reader"? Works for me.

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